Cats And Dogs
by Green Bunny
Summary: Inu Yasha and the gang get sucked up into a portal to another dimension
1. Far Reaching Storms

**Note: This happens a little bit after the trip to Mt. Hakurei …if you don't know what I'm talking about I'd suggest you go check out www.wot- club.org.uk/Inuyasha/ and also… Disclaimer! Nah nah nah nah boo boo! I dun own Inu Yasha and co and neither do you!**  
  
****  
  
Kagome felt skittish. The storm just kept getting louder. Lightening flashed and thunder rumbled. Everyone looked a bit antsy, Inu Yasha sat cross legged near the entrance to the tent, every time thunder would sound his eyes would dart to the flap of the tent, the flaps barely held shut by a few strings tied together. Shippo had taken shelter in Kagome's lap. Thankfully, he had fallen asleep some time ago before the storm had gotten really bad. Miroku sat close to Kagome and Sango, anytime either of them jumped from the sound of thunder he would attempt to calm them by hugging either one of them tightly… Then try to grope them… Which left him with many lumps on his head.  
  
Just as Miroku gave up trying to "comfort" them another flash of lightening lit up the tent, the loud crack of thunder sounded like it was just above their heads. Inu Yasha's hackles began to rise, as did his welling sense of trouble. The half-demon stood quickly and flung himself at all four of them.  
  
"Get out of the way, the lightning's going to hit!" Everyone hit the ground Inu Yasha's body tried to cover as much of them as possible, hoping the lightening would take him instead of his friends. Sure enough, the sky lit up with white light. Kagome could actually see the lightening come down from the heavens. She screamed. Things seemed to go in slow motion as she thought she was witnessing her last moments on earth. Everything around her turned a fuzzy shade of blue.  
  
****  
  
Fia gasped and wrapped her arms tighter about Neko's waist as he rocked above her. The cat-boy's claws dug into the mattress as he increased his pace even more. Fia's cries of pleasure sounded even louder than before, almost as loud as the crack of thunder from outside their bedroom. Neko hated thunderstorms. They hurt his sensitive pointed ears and made him feel paranoid and skittish. He found out that night that his cybernetic lover had similar feelings, lightening made her electronic body parts jump and twitch randomly, and besides that, all the metallic parts inside her made her a walking lightning rod, if she had gotten hit she would have encountered a long and painful death. Neko had taken the opportunity to ease both of their discomforts by doing some… recreational activities… that they were doing at present with great gusto.  
  
Just as Neko had prepared himself for the final release thunder sounded again, but this time it felt like it was inside the room, right above their heads. A blue light filled the room and Fia gasped in surprise as a portal suddenly opened in the ceiling and dumped its occupants onto their heads. Neko yelped as he was hit with two heavy objects and was flung off the bed, taking the sheets with him in the process. Fia found herself half smothered under two boys who looked just as shocked as she was.  
  
Neko seemed to recover first. He had ended up on the floor, his back pressed to the wooden slats. The ruffled cat-boy tried to sit up and protest when a round fuzzy object connected squarely with his head. Neko flopped back onto the floor, stunned from the impact.  
  
Miroku was the second one to recover, his voice sounded dreamy as he immediately began to feel up a very surprised Fia.  
  
"I've died and gone to heaven!"  
  
"You're going to be in the other place if you don't get your hands off me right now."  
  
By the time Fia had spoken her threat Inu Yasha had gathered his wits about him and clobbered the lecherous houshi instinctively, then retreated backwards across the bed as far away as he could from Fia, whom was very much naked. He apologized each time he scooted back and tried hard not to look at her exposed body, after about the fifth apology he fell right off the bed. Neko grunted as he took a third body on top of the other two on his stomach. Kagome and Sango both groaned. Neko spoke in a breathless voice, muffled by Shippo's limp body.  
  
"Get…Off me… Please…"  
  
Sango was more than happy to elbow the dazed half-demon off her. She then slid off of Kagome, who soon joined Sango in kneeling next to Neko. The cat- boy lifted Shippo off his face, who had just begun to wake. Shippo yawned and stretched, dangled from Neko's claw-like hands.  
  
"Oh…Hello Inu Yasha… Did the storm stop yet?" Shippo tilted his head to the side, examining his face as his eyes began to focus a little better. "Hm? You're not Inu Yasha… Eek! Demon!"  
  
Neko stared blankly at him. "Huh?"  
  
Shippo wriggled out of his hands; once he was free he dove into Kagome's awaiting arms. In a flash, Inu Yasha was in front of the two of them, Tetsusaiga drawn. He pointed the blade at Neko's throat, Neko's ears pressed down to his skull as a low rumbling growl started deep in his throat. 


	2. Never mess with an anthro's woman

Inu Yasha tickled Neko's throat with the tip of his blade.  
  
"Now, demon, tell me where your Shikon fragment is."  
  
Neko growled again, golden orbs narrowed, then darted towards Fia to check that she was okay. He did not expect to see her being groped (again) by a dark haired boy. Without thinking, he launched himself over the bed at the lecherous houshi.  
  
"Keep your hands off of Fia!"  
  
Miroku and Neko hit the floor. The angry cat-boy began pummeling him into the floor. Inu Yasha gaped at the sheer speed he had used to avoid being sliced by Tetsusaiga, and then leapt over the bed and into the fray.  
  
"HOLD IT!"  
  
Everyone froze at Fia's shout; the room suddenly filled with the scent of lilacs, all the boys stopped what they were doing and sat down, silly smiles plastered their faces. Kagome, Sango, and Fia seemed the only ones unaffected. With the boys incapacitated, she reached over the edge of the bed and wrapped a sheet around her body. Kagome stared at Inu Yasha; she had never seen him look so inanely happy. Her blue-gray eyes narrowed at Fia.  
  
"What'd you do to them?" Fia smiled apologetically.  
  
"Sorry. I'm not hurting them. That lilac scent in the air…it's from me. It sort of keeps raging males at bay. I want to know what's going on. And I doubt if Neko and your anthro friend there are fighting the entire time that we'll get too far."  
  
Kagome pondered for a moment, the woman didn't seem to be demon possessed, nor did she sense a Shikon fragment even remotely close to her or her demonic-looking friend. She caught herself staring at the nude anthro and blushed. Fia seemed to sense her embarrassment and reached over the bed again, plucked another bed sheet from the floor, and tossed it to Neko. Neko didn't even catch it, still caught up in that sweet scent she gave off, it just draped over his head, conveniently hiding him from view.  
  
Fia smiled a little and returned to where she was sitting. "There. Now then, who are you? And what's up with all the demon and Shikon stuff?"  
  
Kagome was a little surprised the woman hadn't asked her about the strange attire of her friends but she brushed it off for the moment.  
  
"I'm Kagome, this is Sango," She motioned to the girl with the giant boomerang behind her "The guy that tried to grope you is Miroku. The little fox-demon over there is Shippo and the guy with the sword is Inu Yasha."  
  
"Could you tell me exactly why he tried to kill my boyfriend? And… why do you keep calling those anthros demons?" Fia queried, she seemed to be looking for something else on the floor. "Er…uhm…could you hand me my shirt over there, Kagome? By your feet… Yeah, thanks." Fia smiled gratefully as the miko handed her a black long sleeved shirt that zipped up in the front. The woman struggled for a moment to pull it on without exposing herself, finally seemed to get it together and zipped up her top. Sango cleared her throat and spoke.  
  
"Anthro?"  
  
Fia looked a bit confused at the question then slowly responded, not sure of what she was asking. Yes…that's what Neko is…" She motioned towards the blanketed blob on the floor that had once been Neko. " You know… half animal-half human. What's with that face? You look like you've never heard of them before even though you have two of them in your group." Fia motioned towards Shippo and Inu Yasha, both had the same silly grin plastered to their faces. She watched the girls' confused expressions, sighed and scooted out of bed. Fia gave a sheepish smile as she located her discarded pants and pulled them on.  
  
"Okay…here… look."  
  
Now fully clothed, she moved over to Neko and pulled away the part of the blanket that covered his head. Neko's head appeared, complete with sandy brown hair, razor sharp canines, and two pointed ears. Fia smiled fondly, reached out to run her fingers over his ears. Neko purred and turned his head into her palm. After a few more seconds of petting Fia finally seemed to find her voice again.  
  
"See? He's half animal-half human… Or, to be more specific, an anthro cat. Like Shippo and Inu Yasha."  
  
The two girls finally seemed to understand, and they both nodded. Sango, in return for Fia's information, told her all about demons. Fia sat next to Neko the entire time, rapt. Once Sango was finished, the woman asked where the group was from. That lead into an even longer discussion about how Kagome had fallen into the well, freed Inu Yasha from the Goshimbuku Tree and all the events that followed afterward. Whenever Kagome spoke, she tried to keep out the information involving Kikyo or her secret, unrequited love for Inu Yasha, but Sango was always there to tell Fia all about what went on between the Miko and Youkai. Kagome and Sango were a little surprised that Fia would believe them so readily. When they asked, she just replied that in RhyDin, abnormalities were the norm. That of course led to another discussion on the realm of RhyDin, where they presided.  
  
As the conversation went on, Fia's intoxicating lilac scent began to fade, and soon, the boys began to take part in the conversation, settled down for the moment.  
  
"So… If RhyDin is so corrupt, why don't you just move?" Kagome asked.  
  
"There is no where else to move to except guilds or other realms… and those are even less desirable than RhyDin is." Neko had returned to the bed, now clothed (a pair of jeans with a hole in the back for his tail) he kept Fia on his lap, strong arms wrapped around her petite waist.  
  
"I see…Fia? Do you have any idea how we might have gotten here…I told you about the storm already—Inu Yasha! Will you stop growling!?" Kagome turned to the startled half-youkai. Inu Yasha visibly paled as he looked into those angry gray pools of hers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Neko smirking at him, the anthro-cat had been exchanging dirty looks with him behind Fia's back. This caused Inu Yasha to growl even louder, which only added to Kagome's ire.  
  
"Sit!"  
  
WHAM!  
  
Neko couldn't help but snicker as the half demon hit the floor. Fia turned her head to give him an icy stare. Neko's face soon held the same startled look Inu Yasha's had.  
  
"Whatever you did to make him mad… If you keep it up you're going to sleep on the couch tonight. Got it?"  
  
Neko nodded, then his pointed ears perked up and turned towards the door to their bedroom. He gave a low growl, his golden eyes locked on the door. A few moments later a child burst through the door. He looked no older than twelve years old with short, black spiky hair and bright blue eyes.  
  
"Fia! I heard noises upstairs and I—erm… Fia… I didn't know you were having a party." 


	3. Questions And Answers

Inu Yasha harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest; the youkai had seated himself on the floor and at the moment was pouting over his hurt pride. He had been trying to boost his self-confidence by picturing Neko receiving the sit treatment many times. He rolled his golden eyes and directed his gaze towards one of the windows in Fia's bedroom.  
  
"Great, another kid."  
  
The boy rushed over to Fia's bedside looking her over carefully as if she might have been hurt. Kagome thought she saw he eyes linger over certain parts of her anatomy but didn't say anything about it. She wondered if the overprotective cat-boy had seen it too. He had, and the low rumbling sound of his growl could be faintly detected. The miko noted that Inu Yasha seemed to be enjoying Neko's growing anger, though he tried to hide his amusement by keeping his head turned towards the window, even then his eyes could be seen near the corners, watching.  
  
"Fia! What's going on in here? Who're all these people? Are you okay?"  
  
Neko snorted and eyed the dark haired boy.  
  
"I'm sure you know, J. I could hear your heart beat outside the door."  
  
J blanched and immediately began apologizing profusely to Fia. She chuckled and shook her head.  
  
"It's okay J. Just try not to do it again. Kay? Oh, by the way. The girl over there is Kagome. The one with the giant boomerang is Sango. The guy trying to feel her up is--"  
  
POW!  
  
"…Miroku. Shippo's the anthro-fox over there... And the white haired anthro is Inu Yasha. Guys… this is J."  
  
Inu Yasha growled, "I hope you don't have any more kids around here."  
  
Kagome shot him a look that said he was getting extremely close to a sit. J took the opportunity to climb onto Fia's lap, much to Neko's irritation. The two seemed to space out for a few moments, grinning or turning their eyes as if they were having a conversation without ever moving their lips. Kagome watched them, confused. Then turned her blue-gray eyes to Neko for answers. The boy shrugged and shook his head, smiled a little, revealing sharp canines at the corners of his lips, it made Kagome wonder if Inu Yasha looked like that when he smiled.  
  
"I can't really explain it…they're getting information from each other's computers. When Fia and J exchange info it makes it hard for them to talk."  
  
That didn't help much. What computers was he talking about? The miko sure as heck didn't see any in the little wooden room.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Er…its in their heads… or something. Fia's a bio robot and J's a freak-- Ow!"  
  
Fia elbowed her lover none too gently, quite finished with speaking to J's computer. She gave Neko a "you're pushing it" look and he quieted down right away.  
  
"A bio robot?"  
  
"What's a computer?"  
  
Fia smiled a bit. To Sango it looked like there was relief in her bright green eyes.  
  
"Kagome, I'll leave the explaining to you."  
  
The miko wrinkled her nose at Fia.  
  
"Thanks a lot. Well, Inu Yasha, it's like a…a…" She looked to Sango for help, but realized she knew just as little about computers as the rest of the gang did. Only Fia, J, and Neko could possibly help her, and Fia didn't look too ready to give out helpful hints any time soon. She tried Neko but the anthro-cat didn't look like he knew much better than Inu Yasha or the rest of the gang did. He looked like someone who went outdoors quite a lot, darkly tanned with sandy brown hair that looked like it had been bleached many a time by the sun. The miko also couldn't help but notice that he was quite built; Neko wore no shirt to hide his well-toned pecs and six-pack.  
  
She also noted that Fia didn't seem to have the outdoorsy qualities Neko had. Her skin was pale, almost milky white, but while his was work calloused and hardened Fia's skin looked soft as silk. Though she still had the showings of a well worked out body her muscles seemed more hidden to make her form subtly attractive. Fia also had wavy, coal-black hair and dazzling bright green eyes. They were so bright in fact that they seemed to be almost unnaturally green.  
  
J slipped off of Fia's lap, had enough of Neko's jealous glares. He was also a little paranoid that Inu Yasha's presence would make Neko's temper even shorter than normal and he'd get pummeled sooner. The second J slid off Fia's lap Neko's arms snaked around her petite waist and lifted her onto his lap.  
  
Kagome huffed. Her attempts to get the gang to understand what a computer was had become a near impossible task. She rubbed her temples to fend off a slight headache and tried again to get them to understand.  
  
"A computer is like a box that thinks and does certain things for another person like adding numbers or letting a person talk to another person far away. It also is helpful for gathering information."  
  
"So it's like a person?" Shippo queried.  
  
"Except it doesn't have a soul and only does what you make or tell it to do."  
  
Neko felt Fia stiffen in his arms, he kept his face passive as he gave her waist a light squeeze. His head tilted down near her ear whispering comfortingly to her. Inu Yasha's sensitive ears could just barely pick up the anthro-cat's voice.  
  
"They don't mean you. Besides, you're still human"  
  
Fia smirked; to the half demon she seemed to be hiding an old wound that had just been irritated again. Her sarcastic response only added to his suspicion.  
  
"I'm not sure if ten percent is even enough to make me a human."  
  
The dog-demon blinked. Only ten percent human? That couldn't be right, she didn't even smell like demon. Fia smelled like lilacs. Not ever as good as Kagome smelled, but pretty nice. She was definitely human, though he did smell something foreign on her, almost smelled like hot metal. If Fia wasn't completely human, then what was she? Kagome interrupted his thoughts before they could progress further.  
  
"Ah I give up!"  
  
"I'm hungry." Shippo whined.  
  
"Me too." Chimed in all the rest of the guys, who then glared at each other.  
  
Fia clapped her hands together, drawing everyone's attention to her.  
  
"Well then, we'll just have to make some dinner. Come on guys."  
  
She motioned for them to head downstairs, everyone did as they were told without another word. Everyone was well ready for some grub. 


	4. Dinner and Bed

Everyone tramped down the stairs. For once, Fia's normally empty tavern was filled with guests. Ironically, every one of them had traveled great distances, as had once been the norm at her tavern with her guests before the roads to her ancient tavern had stopped being used.  
  
Fia moved behind the bar and began to prepare dinner, humming to herself, happy to be working again. The moment she did Neko dropped to all fours and followed her behind the bar as well. Kagome plopped down onto a barstool and motioned for the rest of the gang to do likewise.  
  
"Hmm… I don't have much food, just some breakfast stuff. I'll have to go to town tomorrow and re stock my supplies." Fia muttered to herself as she pulled out an entire carton of eggs, an unopened package of bacon, and a carton of milk from the fridge.  
  
Kagome gaped "That's plenty of food!"  
  
The green-eyed woman grinned and pointed a finger at J who seemed to be just as amused as she was.  
  
"J can eat all this and then some. So can N--Eep!"  
  
Fia suddenly brought her frying pan down beneath the bar where it connected squarely on a hard object with a noisy clang. Neko's head appeared above the bar a few moments later, rubbing his head and grinning like a naughty child. The fair-haired anthro gave Fia a mock pouty look before he was ushered to a barstool by J.  
  
In a few moments 'dinner' was served. Fia smiled as she placed piles of food out in front of them. Neko and J complained that there wasn't nearly enough for them. Kagome tried to teach those from the Sengoku period how to use forks. Sango and Miroku picked up on the idea of using the utensils easily enough and though Inu Yasha complained that it wasn't nearly as easy as chopsticks, the task wasn't too hard for him to understand. J taught Shippo and easier way of handling the fork by showing the kitsune how to tilt his plate towards his mouth and use the fork as a shovel. Kagome disapproved of the method but gave up later on when she realized how much the fox-demon was enjoying the new tool for eating.  
  
Towards the end of dinner Miroku looked up from his plate at Fia. She still stood behind the bar watching everyone enjoy themselves with a smile upon her cherry red lips. He cleared his throat to get her attention.  
  
"Fia my dear, I may not know the customs of your RhyDin but I have not seen you eat a thing all dinner. Why not join us?"  
  
Fia blinked and froze; she turned a nervous glance to J and Neko. The three seemed to carry on a silent discussion for a moment until they realized that their guests had all stopped eating and were waiting intently for her to answer. The tendress coughed and ran a hand through her dark wavy locks.  
  
"Er… well… There is no real custom but a tendress isn't really allowed to eat on the job. I'll eat when you all go to bed. Then my job is done until tomorrow."  
  
Everyone seemed to accept her answer… everyone except Kagome and Sango. They looked ready to question further but J saved Fia when he cleared his throat and stood.  
  
"Well I'm full. Thanks for the meal, Fia."  
  
Everyone murmured in agreement and pushed back their empty plates. Fia loaded the plates into a dishwasher while Kagome hurriedly explained to the rest of her gang that the emerald-eyed tendress was not feeding her dishes to a monster but to a useful and efficient cleaning device.  
  
Shippo yawned and jumped into Kagome's waiting arms. The young kitsune cub curled up and began to nod off. Fia smiled at the small boy.  
  
"The Silverthorn isn't really a great place to stay as an inn, but I'm sure we can make some room."  
  
Neko grinned and wrapped his arms around Fia from behind. He pulled her against him and nuzzled her neck from behind.  
  
"Sure… as long as it doesn't mess with our sleeping arrangements."  
  
Fia just smiled.  
  
-*-  
  
Sure… as long as it doesn't mess with our sleeping arrangements… peh. Neko idly kicked Miroku's feet away from him. The sleeping houshi responded by muttering a few nonsense syllables and then pointed his cursed but still covered hand at the cranky anthro. A few seconds later he dropped his hand and returned to a deeper sleep. All the girls had gone upstairs for the night along with Shippo. The four of them easily fit comfortably on Fia's king-sized bed. The boys did not have such a luxury.  
  
Inu Yasha had immediately claimed the easy chair in the tavern lounge for himself. J claimed the space behind the bar as his bed. He said that if he stayed near the stairs to Fia's room that none of the boys would be able to steal upstairs. The rest of the boys could see right through his clever ploy. J simply wanted to be near enough to eavesdrop on the girls. They would have exposed his plot but each was curious to know what the girls would talk about. They would pound the information out of J in the morning. With all other comfortable spaces taken, Miroku and Neko grudgingly shared the remaining couch in the lounge.  
  
Miroku had been the first to fall asleep, soon after J followed suit because the girls had stopped talking for the night. Inu Yasha wasn't asleep by a long shot. His quick heartbeat and uneven breaths told Neko that much. The anthro cat sensed that he slept very little; constantly on the lookout for anything and everything that could cause harm to his friends. Neko sensed he was guarding something very dear to him. But what could it be? All he wanted was for the half demon to fall asleep so he could sneak upstairs and find Fia.  
  
Neko's head tilted back and his ears pressed to his skull as a yawn escaped him. Fia's intoxicating lilac scent was thick in the air. Thicker than normal. So gentle and comforting, it subtly drew the anthro into sleep. Neko fought the urge to sleep but her sweet, all encompassing scent was too much for him.  
  
In a final attempt to stay awake he turned his ears in the direction of Inu Yasha's resting place. Neko hoped to used the irregularity of his heartbeat to keep him oriented and awake. To the feline's chagrin he found that Inu Yasha's heartbeat had evened out and slowed. The hypnotic sound only lulled him further into sleep. Neko decided then that he could always wake up early enough the following morning to find some alone time with Fia. Perhaps in the shower or the back of the tavern or on one of the wooden tables…Neko didn't even realized his thoughts had pulled him right over the edge of consciousness and into the realm of sleep. 


	5. Nighttime Mysteries

Neko smiled in his sleep. His dreams randomly flitted to moments in his past but mainly focused on Fia. The anthro didn't remember much of his past before he had met Fia, and for some reason he didn't think it was exceptionally good either. Heck, what he did know was that he had been created by J. In Neko's opinion he could have lived without that knowledge. He growled just thinking about it. To him, J was a whiney punk and a freeloader that got in the way of his and Fia's private time. On top of that Fia mothered the little twerp at his slightest cough! But then again, Fia mothered everyone. Had he ever displayed any signs of illness she would have been all over him. Neko purred. All over was always a good thing. Especially when it involved Fia.  
  
Soft lips brushed his. Neko could feel himself drawn from sleep. He could faintly hear Fia giggle.  
  
"You sure make funny faces when you sleep."  
  
He grinned. "I bet I can make you make funnier faces."  
  
His tail snaked around her waist and drew her closer to him. Fia giggled and planted a few kisses along his neck. She could faintly feel the steady vibration of the purr that rumbled to life in his throat.  
  
Neko's fingers trailed down her spine until they reached the back of her pants. Warm hands slipped under the waistband of her jeans, gave her rear a short squeeze before they moved around to the front. His long, clawed digits made a beeline for two specific areas under her shirt.  
  
On the other side of the couch Miroku rolled over, kicking Neko in the process. The anthro began to growl at him but Fia stopped him before he risked waking the houshi up.  
  
"Hush love, we can always relocate to the front of the fireplace."  
  
Fia placed a finger to his lips, efficiently shushing him. Neko's scowl instantly changed to a sly grin as he nipped at her fingertips playfully. He then trailed a few kisses downward to her palm, nuzzling the slight cleft in her hand gently.  
  
Miroku kicked him again.  
  
Fia quickly covered Neko's mouth with her hand before he could growl at the sleeping houshi.  
  
"Shh… lets move over to the fireplace."  
  
Neko nodded and she removed her hand from his mouth. Almost immediately she was picked up and carried over to a rug set in front of the fireplace. He placed her on her back, and then moved away to light a small fire. After the fire was at a comfortable blaze he returned to Fia's side and lied down.  
  
"I don't know how long the demons will sleep, Neko. They may wake faster than the rest…"  
  
Neko's bright gold eyes glittered in the firelight, a sly grin spread across his features as he rolled on top of her.  
  
"Then we'll just have to move really fast."  
  
She grinned right back at him, long slender arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her.  
  
"Oh I can move fast. But I'm not sure if you can keep up with me."  
  
His smile broadened as he tugged her pants down, "Then we'll just have to find out now won't we?"  
  
*~*  
  
Here would be a particularly raunchy part. But since I want people of all ages to be able to enjoy this fan-fic I have left out the sex part of it. If you want me expand on what they did in an extra chapter at the end then I will. Just send me a response through a review.  
  
*~*  
  
  
  
Urgent whispering woke the half-demon. He silently slipped from the easy chair to the floor and crept towards the source of the voices. The sounds seemed to come from a spot in front of a softly glowing fireplace. As he got closer the scent of lilacs and swear assaulted his senses. Inu Yasha could only wonder how on earth Fia could stand being so near a sweaty anthro-cat. He could see her curled up in Neko's arms, the light from the dwindling fire reflected in her bright green eyes, causing them to glitter orange-green.  
  
"We can't get them involved with APAC. I already shouldn't have gotten you involved. They'll never leave us alone, you know that don't you?"  
  
Neko sighed, hugged Fia closer to him, and spoke softly into her sweet smelling hair, "Well then I guess it's too late for me, but you said that they come from another dimension. Maybe APAC won't be there?"  
  
"But what if they are? Kagome told me about their search, won't it make things even harder on them if APAC is constantly breathing down their necks?"  
  
"Only Kagome and Inu Yasha can go through the well thingy, right? Well then if APAC showed up then they could stay in the Warring States Period until they give up."  
  
"But what if APAC attacks her in her time?" Fia asked. She wanted to believe that everything could be all right but her analytical computer refused to allow her simple hope. Everything, consequences and benefits were weighed out in the computer in her brain, measured with percentages, ratios and probabilities.  
  
"Inu Yasha can take care of her, Fia."  
  
"But he'd have to be with her all the time, and he doesn't really act like he enjoys her presence… We can't just tell him to watch her like a hawk. He'd get mad. But, I'd hate to see Kagome hurt… she's such a nice girl."  
  
Fia rolled over so that she was facing Neko and Inu Yasha could see clearly years of worry and internal abuse of some kind. Whatever this APAC was he didn't think it was a good thing.  
  
A small part of him wanted to help Fia, whatever had harmed the sweet, hospitable woman deserved to pay dearly. The larger part didn't want to get involved with another woman's problems. He already had problems dealing with Kagome and Kikyou why should he carry another's burden. A more secretive part of his mind didn't want Kagome involved in it. The second Kagome figured out what was after Fia she would definitely tell the others and then she would be involved in something that could possibly get her killed added onto the fact that he didn't even know if the people of RhyDin knew of the Shikon jewel. If they did she would be in even more danger.  
  
With his mind made up Inu Yasha padded back to his chair, one ear turned in the couple's direction, just incase Fia actually did think about telling Kagome. Fia gave him the answer he needed rather quickly.  
  
"I'm not going to tell them. And neither are you and J, you hear me? I don't want anyone needlessly involved. We can handle ourselves on our own for now."  
  
Neko nodded and hugged her. After a few moments Inu Yasha could hear that the two had fallen asleep. The sound of their heartbeats had leveled out and their breathing slowed. The dog demon closed his eyes as well, but he kept his sleep light, wary of the things that might attack Fia.  
  
*~* 


	6. Fights Over Easy

In her hazy, computer-controlled dreams Fia floated about over a foggy lake. She wasn't afraid of flying or what might be in the lake; in fact, she didn't feel anything at all. To her right, she could hear laughter, like that of a child. It was pleasant. On her left she could hear a more urgent voice, drawing her away from the neutral plane of her dreams and back to reality.

"Fia. Wake up before they see your wires. you've been recharging again."

Fia glanced off to her right again. She wanted to know who laughed in her dreams. When had she heard something so happy as a child? All she could remember was darkness then. Something cold and lonely, her dreams darkened for a moment, but the computer quickly took over and eliminated the negative thoughts, returning them to a neutral gray. Once again the voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Fia! Hurry! They're coming downstairs."

The warning was enough to get her thinking again and she was quickly drawn away from her dream world to reality. The moment her eyes opened the cords attached to her neck retreated from a nearby wall outlet back into a compartment in the back of her skull. She could hear Neko breathe a sigh of relief and the sound of at least two people tramping downstairs from the bedroom.

"Gah! What ARE you two doing?"

Sango nearly shrieked her question, causing all demons, anthros, and humans alike to wince.

Neko blinked and looked around for a good excuse or some sort of diversion to keep the wrath of Sango off of him. His golden eyes settled on J for a moment, but he looked ready to crack up laughing at any second. The boy returned his glare with a "well now what are you going to do, stupid?" expression.

"I... ah..."

Neko fumbled for an answer that wouldn't receive some pummeling by the woman with the huge boomerang. Miroku to the rescue! The lecherous houshi had been awakened by Sango's screech. He caught Fia by one arm and began to usher the confused woman upstairs. ogling her as much as possible in the process.

"Oh my! We must get the lady upstairs before she catches her death of cold." He didn't even make it to the foot of the stairs before he was tackled by Neko and pummeled into the floor.

The angry cat-man emphasized each word with a punch to the lecherous houshi's face. "Don't (WHAM!) Touch (THUD) My (POW) Woman (BANG)!"

Through all the commotion Fia stole upstairs, mentally begged J to stop the fight before any of her precious furniture got destroyed. While Fia made a safe getaway Kagome yelled at Inu Yasha to break up the fight, then realized her folly when the dog demon rose from his easy chair cracking his knuckles. Inu Yasha jumped right into the fray without a second thought. Fists flew and the wooden tavern floor shook with the impact of rolling bodies and thudding fists. Somewhere along the line Miroku was tossed out of the fight into a nearby wall. The houshi was out cold with more or less a giant bruise for a head from all the pummeling he had taken from both boys.

Just as Kagome had begun to form the word 'sit' on her lips the fighting came to an abrupt halt. Both boys had each other by the throat, straining and panting heavily from all the damage they had taken from each other. Two sets of gold eyes locked on each other for what seemed an endless span of time. Then, just as Sango began to believe that the tense air in the room would kill her Neko chuckled, and then Inu Yasha. All of a sudden they were laughing hysterically, the boys released each other and rolled on the floor, every so often one would punch the other and they would laugh even more. Sango scratched her head and tugged absently on her ponytail,

"I missed something here." She muttered.

Kagome and Fia simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Neko was the first to recover; he rolled over onto his stomach, and then pushed himself off the wooden floor to launch his body into a standing position. He bent over Inu Yasha and extended a hand down to him. At first, the dog demon narrowed his eyes at him, as if he might start another fight but the look left his face just as quickly and he chuckled. He took Neko's hand and allowed the cat-boy to pull him up. Noticing the sudden lull in conversation Fia seized her opportunity to talk. She descended the remaining few steps of the stairs and shouldered a backpack that had been hanging from her right hand.

"Well if you're all done here I think we should get moving. We have to go to town and get more food. As much as I'd prefer you all to stay here it'd be more risky for you to stay here than come with us. This is a two-day trip and we have to stop to rest in a smaller town on the way and then continue on to Rifton the next."

The tall, slender woman had somehow managed to walk from the stairs to one of the couches in the lounge area of the tavern while she talked. Fia unceremoniously extended both arms out to the side and flopped down onto the waiting overstuffed couch.

"I'll wait here for you to prepare. I also need to pick up an item that will help you get home, so don't think this is just some random excursion. It has value to you." With that said, everyone split off to collect their things.

J made a sound akin to a happy squeal and bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. The boy zipped into Fia's bedroom before any of the girls could even open their mouths to question. He returned seconds later with a backpack stuffed with all sorts of clothes and gadgets he'd created to protect his beloved Fia. J immediately seated himself next to Fia and gave her a loving squeeze around her small waist. Neko was the second to return. He appeared in little more than a t-shirt and jeans, as he preferred to travel light, if at all. He growled at J and seated himself on the other side of Fia. The territorial cat-man wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. Fia just smiled and snuggled against him, while J threw dirty looks at Neko behind her back.

Miroku and Sango were next to appear. They had little to pack but their weapons. Kagome had tried to plead with them to leave their weapons at the Silverthorn but Fia encouraged them to bring weapons. Shippo followed suit after them, he'd taken the time to gather leaves in case he needed to shape shift while on the road. The boy bounced into J's lap, whom he considered his newest friend. Kagome and Inu Yasha were the last to return. She and the hanyou had had an argument about the importance of bringing supplies when it seemed like Fia would provide for them. Kagome didn't want to act like a freeloader but Inu Yasha was all for a free meal and a place to sleep. The two had finally settled on Kagome bringing a sleeping bag and her change of clothes but no more. Once everyone had regrouped Fia got up and headed to the front door. She opened the large unwelcoming door and allowed everyone to file outside. Once everyone was out the woman gave a last wistful glance at her home, closed the door, and locked it. She sighed softly, and then turned to the group of waiting faces, familiar and not so.

"Ready? Let's go!" ***


	7. Rion

Quite a few hours into their trek along the well-beaten path towards the first town they would visit the gang paused as some bushes on the left side rustled irregularly. Fia tensed and Inu Yasha's hand hovered on the hilt of his sword. However, no one had time to react as a huge black shadow streaked out of the bushes right at Neko, bowling him over.

"Got you!" The black thing grinned triumphantly, then blinked and studied the dazed anthro. "...Rion?"

Inu Yasha was the first to recover. He drew the Tetsusaiga suddenly and placed the blade at the black form's furry throat. Shocked and scared emerald pools turned to his. It was then he realized the shadow was not that but another anthro, covered in the darkest black fur from head to toe. In fact, the anthro was a she-cat, a female that smelled strongly of fear and another scent, more masculine. The half demon growled and pressed the blade tighter to her neck, issuing a whimper from the intruding anthro.

"What are you doing, demon? And answer quick."

The dark anthro began to wave her claw-like hands around wildly, making grunting, purring, and whimpering sounds all at once. Only the demons and Neko looked as if they understood what she said.

Shippo blushed suddenly and Neko broke in hurriedly. "Let's not go into detail about that."

The female only grunted something and began to speak again in her unusual language. Again, her conversation was interrupted, this time by Inu Yasha, who had lowered and sheathed his sword by then. "Oh, so you only speak a few words in the common language?"

She nodded but before she could continue a whiteand black striped tiger anthro padded out of the bushes; this one was larger than the black one and definitely male. Neko and Inu Yasha both realized that his scent had to be the one on the unnamed female. From what she had told them she was being chased. They figured she must have been running from the male standing before them. The two boys stood protectively in front of her, ready to attack if the other male got too close. Before anyone could move a muscle the black anthro gave a short happy squeal and pounced the male. The two rolled along the ground for a moment, and then stopped, the black female perched on top of the white male. He purred happily and tilted his head up to nuzzle against the side of her cheek.

"Lana. Where 'av you been? I was beginning to worry."

Lana responded in a series of cat-like noises, the tiger anthro nodded, listening, once in a while he would turn his jade hued eyes towards Inu Yasha and the others, then nod again at Lana. After five or so minutes of conversation the white tiger seemed to have all the information and spoke, his voice held a slight accent to it, as if he might not have been a native of RhyDin.

"I zee. But why did you not pounce that boy, he looks more like me. Don't you think? What do you mean he zmells like a demon? Lana. have you been getting into ze cat nip again?" Lana growled and pointed a clawed finger at Inu Yasha and then Shippo, blazing emerald pools narrowed at the tiger and she crossed her arms over her chest petulantly. He switched languages and began to argue more hurriedly with Lana, her eyes narrowed further and she raised a hand threateningly, as if she might claw him if he didn't listen to her. The male tensed and responded, she relaxed and allowed him to get up.

Kagome finally couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Now what the heck is going on here?" She glared at Inu Yasha and Neko. "I know you two understand SOMETHING they're saying! So fill us in already!"

The white anthro cleared his throat. "Erm. I'll explain that mizz."

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Her foot tapped against the ground as she waited for his answer. The tiger waited a moment until he was sure he had everyone's attention, then sat on his haunches and began his speech. "First of all I am Rion, and I apologize for any harm Lana 'as caused you. Lana iz not so well educated in your language. She only knows the few words I 'ave taught her. We were..." Rion paused; his jade pools wandered over the two children there, "...Playing a game of tag, and she lost track of me. She zays she followed my scent till she picked up hiz scent." He nodded toward Neko before continuing "Lana closes 'er eyes when she comes near 'er prey so they can no' see her eyes. She pounzed you thinking you were I." He finished, gathering himself back onto all four paws again.

Neko whispered to Fia that while all anthros could stand on two paws, the wilder ones preferred being on all fours. Everyone seemed to settle down after the explanation; except Inu Yasha, still a bit antsy for a fight, and paranoid because there had been no fights thus far. Fia cleared her throat.

"Erm. well. Now that that is settled, we're very sorry if we scared your Lana, but we must keep going. It doesn't look like we'll make it to the nearest inn before nightfall. We need to hurry while we can. Come on guys, let's go."

The white tiger's ears perked and swiveled in her direction. "You need a place to stay for the night? Stay with us. We would love to have company. Our house iz too small for the two of us." Fia stuttered "W-well. I don't know." She glanced at Neko, then J.

The dog demon could sense it. They were communicating with each other again. He didn't know how but he knew... somehow. it wasn't just simple understanding. Dammit! If he could only figure out what the hell they were talking about! He needed to talk to Kagome soon. Something wasn't right. He had to talk to her alone. No one else should know if he was mistaken. The less people knew he had goofed in some way the less it would take down his pride.

"I think it sounds like a good offer, Fia." Neko began, J shot him a look that said to be quiet, which irritated Neko to no ends, and the two began a glaring contest.

Kagome groaned and pressed her fingers to her forehead, her eyes closed. Miroku had seconded Neko while Sango sided with J. Inu Yasha took no sides, his arms crossed, turned away from the group, his ears perked and turned towards them to pick up the answer, then he would react. Neko had broken the staring contest when Fia touched his shoulder, which caused J to laugh and then dodge as the angry anthro threw a punch his way. Inu Yasha seemed to enjoy this and cheered Neko on, Shippo snorted and was instantly tossed into the air. Shippo came hurtling back to earth only to be caught by the tail by Miroku. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Excuse me but... Shouldn't we see what Miss Fia thinks of all this? She is our guide on this quest." Everyone paused and looked to the dark haired woman. She smiled appreciatively to him and turned to Rion.

"Since it is so late, we probably won't make it to the next town before midnight, so. I accept your offer." The white tiger smiled, not an all too pleasant thing when one had fangs but the smile was still was genuine. He nodded and spoke to Lana again, the dark anthro cat hissed and took off in another direction. Rion sighed and shook his head, then turned to the others with a smile. "Follow me. We live juzt a little east from zee road."

~*~

It was hard to keep up with the anthros, much more accustomed to dodging trees with far better reflexes to boot. The humans of the group got exhausted often, including Fia, who had seemed entirely perky up until then. Neko had started to grow agitated by this and urged them to move on faster. Soon, Fia had begun to lag so much that even Kagome grew worried. She stayed behind to help the taller woman along. By nightfall the trees suddenly opened up to an expansive beach, along that was a house, the only one around for miles it seemed. The tiger headed towards it.

Neko was forced to carry Fia and an exhausted Shippo had come along for the ride, sleeping in her lap. By that time, J had begun to exhibit the same symptoms of extreme fatigue Fia had and had to be carried on Inu Yasha's back. Once inside Rion split up the group into different rooms. He apologized for only having enough room for each people to sleep in by twos. Somehow. he managed to place everyone with just the right (or possibly wrong) partner. Inu Yasha was given a room with Kagome, Sango and Miroku were paired up, Fia and Neko got their own room, finally J and Shippo were given a smaller room. Neko wouldn't say a thing; he rushed off to their room. Miroku made a comment about his eagerness with a tired woman and Sango smacked him upside the head. Rion told them that dinner would be made soon and asked them to enjoy their rooms with an almost. feral gleam in his jade eyes. Reluctantly, each pair headed off to their rooms and closed the doors in turn.

The white tiger chuckled and headed down the hall to the kitchen. "Ah. young love."


	8. Rooms

            Everyone had been ushered off to his or her rooms, the walls were nearly soundproof, and each room contained a single bed. Some of those people enjoyed their arrangements… others, however, weren't so fortunate. Five rooms lined one hall; each contained two different people, some polar opposites, some not. 

Room One-

            ***Thank you for your patience. Your R.O.G.U.E. has been reactivated for the next twenty-four hours. Have a nice day, and please feel free to shop at APAC Labs any time***

            The mechanical, jerky voice that automatically controlled Fia's voice box before she woke up always irritated him. He would have preferred to hear his own beloved's voice, happily greeting him a good morning, instead. Neko sighed and reached out to the woman placed on the bed, thick black cords connected to a nearby wall outlet automatically retracted back into a compartment in the back of Fia's neck. His fingertips brushed away a few loose strands of her rich ebony hair. God, she was beautiful. He wondered for the eight trillionth time how he'd gotten so lucky. Sparkling emerald pools opened slowly, as if they'd come straight out of a pleasant dream instead of the tedious recharging automated rest. Her eyes captivated him. She smiled, and then opened her mouth to question him; he silenced her with a kiss. 

            His body moved over hers without breaking the kiss. They paused for air. He smiled down at her. Lucky indeed, not only did he have her but now he had her alone… with no J to bother them. A wicked grin spread over his lips. Fia's eyes widened, as she seemed to read where his thoughts were heading. Her lips parted to object, and once again she they were silenced with a kiss. 

Room Two-

            J and Shippo, exhausted from their long journey, had fallen asleep almost instantly. The taller, dark haired boy slept with the smaller light haired youkai curled up on his tummy. Both seemed oblivious to the odd creaking sounds emanating from the room next door. 

Room Three-

            "Ah! Don't hit me! I haven't done anything yet!" 

Miroku cried out and covered his throbbing head with his hands; he'd been backed into a corner with little hope of escape. Sango stood above him, her fists raised, ready to strike again. Since she had been sleeping when they had been sucked into the portal her giant boomerang wasn't with her. The demon exterminator felt naked and vulnerable without it… so she took out her anger at her weakness out on the lecherous houshi. 

"Peace! I won't do anything to you, I promise. I'll sleep right here on the floor."

Sango huffed and brought her hands up to her armor, she hesitated and glared at him as his eyes followed the path of her hands up to the thick black armor covering her breasts. 

"Turn around, houshi."

Strangely, he did just that without a word. She quickly pulled off all her armor until only her black under suit remained. She watched his back for a moment; he seemed thoroughly cowed, maybe even hurt that she'd hit him for no reason. The demon exterminator sighed and climbed into bed. 

"You can… turn around now." 

Miroku did so, hesitantly. When he saw that she was in bed he smiled a bit and leaned back against the wall. He helped to keep his body propped up by leaning on his staff. Like Inu Yasha, even in sleep he had his weapon of choice by his side. He shifted to sit more comfortably. His staff tinkled softly, as if it had been muted so as not to bother Sango. Her back was turned to him by then. She must have fallen asleep already. The houshi watched her sides rise and fall slowly with each breath she took. He smiled; she was quite a broad, short fused, stubborn, strong, and beautiful. Though he hated to admit it, she was just his type. The easy types were too… well… simple. Their characters only reached a surface level. He was good looking and so they went to him. Sango knew him, and quite possibly hated him. Miroku gave an inward sigh. Yeah, hated him. But, there were times, when she was… different. She'd do a double-take over a question, get angry with him over the girls he allowed to run after him, or worry about him… perhaps… just maybe… He drifted off to sleep thinking not of the past, but the 'what ifs' of the future. 

"Houshi, are you asleep?"

No response. Sango rolled onto her other side to look at him. His eyes were closed, his breaths even. He didn't look so tense, like he didn't have a care in the world. It made his face almost… childlike. She wondered what he was thinking of, her eyes darkened, probably dreaming of some beautiful broad. But, he didn't have that smirk he got when he slept thinking of things like that—hey! How did *she* know that? It wasn't like… she watched him sleep… or anything. Her ears, pressed against her head and the pillow felt a little warmer than usual. A fever? No, she didn't feel the slightest bit ill. Perhaps it was… a blush? 

Her cheeks grew warmer at the thought. In fact, her whole body felt warm. Too warm; she kicked off the covers and pulled the lower most blanket up around her. Miroku's brow furrowed slightly, his cheek rested against his staff. Had the dream turned bad? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to comfort him. She grumbled silently and pushed the thought far back into the deepest recesses of her mind where it settled with a warm glow and made her faintly dizzy. Without thinking, she slowly stood from the bed and pulled the top cover off it. Using all the stealth she'd mastered hunting youkai she drew up to Miroku and very gently placed the blanket over him. 

A blink. What had she been thinking? It wasn't like she knew he was cold or anything… but… the crease in his brow softened slowly until it was gone and he held that child-like expression again. Sango pursed her lips and reached out to take the blanket back, what would he think if he woke up with that on? He'd think she was going soft on him. Hell no! But, as her fingers touched the edge of the fabric they hesitated. Very slowly, they withdrew. As if they had not heard what her brain had told them to do. Instead, she walked slowly back to the bed and slid under the remaining covers. 

Room Four-

            "Eh heh heh… That Rion fellow… He's a funny guy, isn't he?"

            Kagome looked up at Inu Yasha from the bed on the other side of the room. The half-youkai had taken an uncomfortable looking chair there as his place to sleep for the night. Kagome assumed it was probably just like sleeping on the Goshimbuku tree's branches back in the Warring States Period. Had he ever slept comfortably in his life?

            "Y-Yeah… He sure is…"

            Both gave a nervous chuckle. Inu Yasha seemed positively nervous. His ears twitched and darted back and forth, golden eyes filled with some hidden anxiety she couldn't place her finger on. It wasn't like they hadn't ever been alone before… together… Oh gods! There it was… that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Kagome cleared her throat and squirmed uncomfortably, drawing Inu Yasha's attention away from the far wall he'd been inspecting with intricate detail. 

            "Uhm… I have to change into my pajamas. Could you turn around, please?"

            He did so without another word, the youkai had to force his ears to point at the other wall instead of straining backwards to pick up the rustle of fabric more clearly. He looked even more uncomfortable in the chair now than ever, his legs pressed into the arm of the chair on that side and couldn't have been okay for him to sit. When Kagome was finished she slipped under the covers of the bed, her body turned so that it faced the wall opposite the one Inu Yasha had been focusing all his senses on. 

            "You can sleep with me if you want."

            "**WHAT**?"

            With a loud thud Inu Yasha tumbled out of his seat, still staring bug-eyed at Kagome's back.

            "Not like that, baka! I mean you can sleep on the bed with me. That chair seems… uncomfortable so I thought… Oh! Never mind, good night!"

            With a huff Kagome tightened the covers around her shoulders and squeezed her eyes shut. The nerve of that boy for even thinking that she would ask for something like that! Stupid demon… And so the grumbling continued until the young woman grumbled herself to sleep. 

Room Five-

            Rion paced in his room, he had left his window open in case Lana would return. She'd been quite angry with him for letting strangers stay in his home. He'd told her that she didn't own it and so she had no right to complain. Funny, Lana was normally a more generous creature with outsiders. She'd said something about humans in the forest before she'd stormed off. That was ridiculous too; there had always been humans in the forest. There was a town near by so travelers came in and out of Rion's forest almost all day. 

            Recently, Lana had shifted into her old characteristics. She was an introverted and cautious anthro by nature but she'd grown even more so over the past few weeks. She jumped at the slightest noise and only took light catnaps at a time; her ebony pointed ears always remained at attention during such times, ever ready to catch the sound of an unwanted predator. It had taken so long to bring her out of her wandering and wary ways and now, for some reason all his effort was melting away again. He was going to lose her. 

            Fear. It had been so long since he'd felt that emotion. He'd always been a confident anthro, confident in his looks, confident in his abilities to catch the eye of any young female… But now he was afraid. It had been three years since the black-furred beauty had padded into his life. She was a wild, untamable thing with a razor sharp wit in the feline tongue and a cautious attitude overall. It had taken so long for Rion to gain her trust. She'd always been afraid of doing wrong. Lana had been through a multitude of bad mates. Abusive males with no common sense as to what they were losing in such a rare find as she. 

            Every time they'd mated, every time she would let a claw slip or forget her place he was there to teach her that she was still beautiful and wanted. Over the years, she had learned. Lana became more confident and self-content and he had grown to care more for her. For once, he was happy just being with her. Rion lost interest in his other mates until his day almost revolved around her and her alone. 

Then one day she vanished from his home. He tried to be calm about it. It wasn't such a big deal, was it? She was just a mate, a sexual partner. And yet, he worried about her. Was she eating well? Was she healthy? Did she take another mate? For some reason, that had scared him most of all. But no, one rainy spring day she had padded right back into his life again. She'd grown a bit thinner and looked bedraggled out in that horrid rain but still she was back and he was happy again. He never asked about why she left and she never told. But he was happy, and so it seemed was she. 

And now, Lana was gone again. Had he driven his little fireball off for good? With that and other thoughts connected to Lana plaguing his mind, Rion climbed into his bed and curled up in a warm, white ball of misery. 

Room Four-

A few hours later, having made sure Kagome was fast asleep; Inu Yasha slipped quietly from his uncomfortable chair on the other side of the room to her bed and carefully crawled onto it. He cautiously laid down next to her, his back against hers. The youkai hadn't slept in a bed in a long time. He'd almost forgotten how comfortable they could be. It was… pleasant. The comfy spring of the bed, coupled with the warmth of Kagome's back against his and the pleasant scent of her hair, and in a few moments he fell prey to one of the deepest rests he had ever had in his life. 


	9. The Hunt Begins

-

I know it's been a long while but I was busy reviving my other fan fiction when I started getting inspired to bring back this one. There's more to come with this so stay tuned!

Oh, and these will be edited a little once everything is finished. In the interest of getting my stuff put out there in a timely manner there's bound to be some story hiccups so I apologize in advance for anything missing.

-

Parting with Rion in the morning had been rather abrupt. In the morning they had found a handwritten note from the white tiger saying that he had pressing business and that they were free to go at any time. He'd left them some breakfast on the table for everyone which had to be re-warmed but was otherwise quite good. After the meal the group headed onward with Fia and Neko in the lead.

A lunch break and several hours later led them onto paved streets, comely little houses and several shops. As they progressed further into town they came upon a strip of shops identifying it as the shopping district. Fia and the anthro led them beyond the area until the homes petered out and they arrived at the opposite end of town where a combined inn and tavern backed up to some thick woods. Inu Yasha noted that they had chosen yet another secluded place to stay over proximity to the shops.

Another strange occurrence had caught Kagome's attention. Oddly, during their lengthy walk Fia exhibited none of the extreme exhaustion as she had on their previous travels the day before. J, however, was not quite so fortunate and at the moment snored away on the woman's back. Neko had offered to carry him but J clung to her when she tried to make the exchange and she promised him she was feeling more than up to the task.

As they approached the building thunder rumbled in the distance. Neko cursed and urged them to get inside, concerned the two cyborgs in their midst would not fare well in lightning. Inu Yasha complained that there was no need to rush because his sensitive ears told him the rains would not come for a few more hours. The anthro insisted and so they hurried the rest of the way to the inn.

Safely inside Fia booked the rooms for everyone. Miroku observed that the woman was careful to disguise the amount of money she carried; always appearing to carry far less than the large quantity he had watched her pack. Admittedly, his original intention was to ask her to bear his children but when he had seen the flash of gold his sixth sense encouraged him to observe her, rather than make his presence known. At the time it had bothered him somewhat but now he saw it as a protective measure to ensure that thieves who might be canvassing the tavern might assume that she carried too little to rob her later when she left. He had employed the same technique himself on many an occasion. The clever woman also went so far as to barter down the price of the rooms with the innkeeper to continue the charade.

Thunder sounded again and it stirred J from slumber. He allowed Fia to set him down before he was immediately ordered, along with Shippo, straight to bed. The boys whined and pleaded to stay up with the adults. J argued that his great intellect made him an adult in spirit while the kitsune turned to Kagome and Sango and begged for them to change Fia's mind. The women were not to be swayed and moments later the children were led off to bed by an equally exhausted Sango.

Miroku watched until the demon hunter had hustled them into their rooms, closed the door, and then located her own room. With sly grin he bade them all good night and sauntered off after her. There was a soft thud on the door which those with hyper-sensitive hearing identified as a slap, yet neither emerged from the room. Apparently, Sango was in a forgiving mood.

Neko and Kagome were the next to head off to bed. The miko gave the half-demon a small glare as she left. She knew he was going to question the woman who had been nothing but gracious to them. However, Inu Yasha was notoriously tenacious so she had given up asking him to leave her alone hours ago, in a secret part of her mind she was fairly concerned that whatever haunted Fia might become their problem.

When everyone had left for bed the raven haired woman sat down at a nearby table and motioned the dog-demon to take a seat, "So talk to me, I know you've got questions."

He raised an eyebrow while sitting, "You couldn't have heard us talking unless you have demonic powers."

"You could say that, in a way, I do."

Her response did not surprise him. It seemed anything was possible in RhyDin. Inside the inn alone he had seen all kinds of being and creature—in fact—it seemed that pure humans were the odd kind out. In a strange way the half-demon felt more normal as a stranger in a strange land than he had ever felt in either time periods he frequented at "home." Inu Yasha had little time to contemplate his revelation because Fia had begun to speak again.

"I was a human, but…" She paused to think about how she was going to word what she said next. Kagome had explained to her that he was from a time period where machines were non-existent. "…someone else paid to make me have the strength of a demon."

"Why?"

"They want to make strong soldiers who always listen to orders. Regular humans ask too many questions or run away."

"So you ran away?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes. It cost a lot of money to build me, but I'm defective. You saw how tired I got a few days ago?" The hanyou nodded and she continued. "The unit that keeps me powered is faulty. It's a prototype—a test. It's expensive, so they want it back."

He grunted in a manner which she took to mean he understood but his questions were not finished.

"So why not give this 'unit' back?"

The woman raised a hand to her well endowed chest and pointed between her breasts, "I would but it would kill me. Before you ask, if I went back to them and asked them to fix it they would try to make me a mindless killer again. I wouldn't know anything except orders." Her bright green eyes showed the faintest hint of sadness, even as she smiled. "I might be a great killer, but I'd hurt the ones I love for certain."

"Feh. If you're strong enough you can be a great killer without hurting your loved ones." He snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Fia maintained her smile but he was certain he saw the pained look in her eyes increase. "I suppose you're right. Well, now you know what's chasing me it's up to you to decide to stay with us. I know we're putting you all at great risk."

"You should have told us earlier. You put my people at risk." He retorted, never one to mince words.

"I'm sorry. I know."

"Well, I'll have to talk to Kagome and the rest about it but that stubborn woman won't let us leave you guys alone so easily—so you better be ready to see us around for a while. I'm telling you right now that this wasn't _my_ idea." Technically, it was his idea to see what was really plaguing the small family and he knew it would lead to their involvement—but he wasn't about to tell Fia that. Before she could get them any more mired in their stupid troubles the dog-demon asked to be excused for the night.

-

The rain picked up about ten minutes after Inu Yasha had gone to bed. It had been drizzling steadily before then. Fia rested her head in her hands, balling her fingers into fists through her wavy locks. Every altered nerve ending sent out bizarre signals to her body, making her muscles twitch and jump erratically, tuned to the beat of each bolt of lightning. A feeling of dread welled up within the depths of her mind.

-

In the Sengoku period a thunderstorm raged. Naraku utilized stormy weather to conduct his experiments with his own organs. That night he had made three beings out of his organs and endowed each with their very own Shikon fragment. He had meant for them to fight to the death until only one was left standing. Naraku had surmised that his previous defeats against Inu Yasha came from weakness in his created beings. Hence, if he weeded out the weak organs immediately then perhaps his chances of taking the fragments from the damned miko might improve.

As the storm continued the fight began. Each being tore holes into each other in an open field as they hacked away to be the single prized possession for their master. Then suddenly a flash of light lit up the entire field, bathing everything, including a surprised Naraku in a blue haze. A split second later it was over. Naraku was alone on the edge of the field and his three cronies had vanished.

-

"Inu Yasha let that man go!" Kagome shrieked.

The dog-demon held a skinny man with fangs by the throat a foot off the floor. His golden eyes flashed with rage as he squeezed his fingers tighter on the man's neck. The moron had been stupid enough to make a move on Kagome the morning after that horrific storm. He went so far as to try and kiss her! Just thinking about it made the hanyou squeeze a little tighter. The guy was turning a slight shade of blue.

"Sit!"

Inu Yasha hit the floor with a splat. His hold on the would-be lover boy released and the guy scrabbled away, coughing and choking, out the door. On the way down the hanyou struck a chair and demolished it.

With a groan Neko turned to the innkeeper who had witnessed the entire ordeal and paid her for the broken furniture. He then walked over to the twitching and cursing demon and squatted beside him.

"Idiot!" Kagome screamed and stomped her foot. She was about ready to sit the half demon again when Fia clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Calm down, calm down, Neko can you take him outside? Kagome needs some time to vent."

With a nod the anthro cat helped the hanyou to his feet and pushed him out the door, muttering softly, "Just give her a little bit of time to simmer down. Hey, why don't we spar for a few minutes? We can stay near the entrance and make sure that bastard doesn't come back to hit on her again, okay?"

The dog-demon nodded and rubbed a bruised chin that was rapidly healing. He could practically feel the fires of Kagome's rage on his back and he did not want to risk irritating the miko any further. As soon as the were gone Fia sat the girl down at the bar and patted her shoulder.

"He was just trying to protect you, you know that, right?"

Kagome sighed and shook her head, still aggravated, "I know…"

"Good, well J will keep an eye out for any creeps. I've got to go take a shower, why don't you order yourself a nice cup of hot tea? That should settle you down a little." Fia smiled and the girl managed one back.

The woman gave her one more pat and then headed off to her room.

Kagome fumed as she sat at the bar, sipped tea, and grumbled to herself. "The nerve of that man acting like an animal… I should sit him…"

"I hear you, honey. I'm partnered up with an asshole too." The low, gruff voice of the woman one seat away from her startled the miko. As she turned towards the voice she saw a girl with a youthful looking pale pink face framed in a few stray mahogany locks. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and her eyes were the deepest dark blue she had ever seen.

"I'm sorry. Was I speaking out loud?"

The girl laughed, confirming that the voice had come from her, "You didn't bother me if that's what you're worried about. I just wanted to say that I can relate."

Something about her immediately convinced the miko that the woman was trustworthy. Kagome quickly related her morning series of unfortunate events to her; in return she was given the woman's name: Rose. As soon as the priestess had explained what had gone on Rose divulged her own ill mood.

"Yeah I know what you mean. You see, my partner, Ace, is an uptight know-it-all who can't relax for a damned second. He's one of those hyper-militaristic kinds of guys, ya know? In my opinion Ace is a bit of a bully with the other mercs. He's so bad, in fact, that no one else will pair up with him. My leader, Joseph, he made me be his partner. Everyone's got to have their backup and I'm the only one who has ever bested him in a sparring match. So, there you go. I'm stuck with him.

He never listens to anyone, fights constantly, is stubborn as a mule—ugh—it makes me pissed just thinking about him. He ran off to do some more damned training last night so now I'm stuck here earning money as protection for some of the traders. Joseph will kill me if I come back to base without him again so I'm just going to sit my ass right here and wait."

It was odd to see such profanity coming from a girl who exuded a gentle and pure power. It almost glowed in her like a Shikon fragment—except that it seemed to come from her very soul, rather than a shard.

"You might want to keep that glowing thing covered up." Rose added, nodding her head in the direction of her chest.

Kagome was stunned. The fragment shards could not have possibly been seen by a normal human. It was neatly tucked away in the folds of her shirt, yet this girl could see right through it.

"Wait, you can see the shards?" She asked incredulously.

"Can't everyone? It's shining plain as day."

"No, not everyone can," Kagome insisted, cupping her hand around the spot where the tiny bottle of shards hung off her neck.

Rose paused for a moment in thought then snapped her fingers, "Oh! It must be a holy stone. Those things appear shiny to me. I don't know why. Joseph says it's probably some latent ability I have…" She trailed off, lost in thought for a few moments before her frustration took over again.

"Urgh! Damn that Ace! I'm stuck here sitting around waiting like some stupid chick waiting for her date to come pick her up. You know I've been asked out three times since I've been here and I have to tell them 'sorry I'm waiting for someone' ugh! I sound fuckin' love sick to everyone!"

For the second time since starting their conversation the girl yanked her hair out of the bun and re-tied it back into the bun again. Kagome sensed she did it habitually when she was frustrated. Minus the swearing Rose sounded oddly similar to herself. It made her smile and before she knew it she had let slip a giggle.

"You could have fooled me. You sound like you do right now."

It was the young mercenary's turn to laugh, "Ha! As if! I'll never date a maniac like Ace! He's violent and haughty and stubborn as hell…"

She went on and on, Kagome lamented to her about Inu Yasha's strikingly similar attitude problems as well until they had both become satisfied with their lampoon of each ones companion.

-

Kagome had retired to bed long ago, yet Rose continued to stay up. Something called to her in the dark and she was debating if she should seek it out. A negative energy of some sorts was moving about in the forest near by. Acebris had told her to wait and she fought her common sense against seeking out the source of the disturbance. In the end her aggravation had won the battle in her mind. No one had propositioned her to kill the negative presence so it served as good practice in the field. Ace was obsessed with fighting so much that she would one up him and return with her own prize.

With her mind made up, Rose pushed off from the bar, strode through the inn's front door, and headed out into the night.

-

For at least an hour the woman walked through the dark woods seeking out the source of the power she had felt. It felt similar to the presences of Inu Yasha and Shippo but those had a gentle spirit guiding them. This one was full of malice and hatred. There was not a shred of the gentleness she had felt in those two. Rose wondered for the second time what she might have walked in to.

Suddenly a beast sprang upon her its signature unmistakably that of the energy that had practically called out to her. It had a body like a panther and a wolf with a hunched back with hair that boiled like living black lava. In the middle of its' forehead the wolfish face sported a shining object. It glittered like the stones Kagome had worn around her neck, this one however felt tainted. Rose had just enough time to dodge the first attack.

"That's a pretty jewel on your head. Mind if I borrow it?" The woman smirked, drawing her sword.

The beast raised a brow at her. She could see Shikon shards like that priestess could, eh? The black beast bared glittering razor teeth in an evil smile.

"I'd like to see you try, foolish human."

With a shout Rose attacked. The thing zipped away from her lightning fast—but she was quick as well. Her blade glinted in the dark as the beast landed a few feet away from her, only to find that she was there almost immediately. He had just enough time to jump away, but not before she shaved some fur off.

As the young mercenary fought the black liquid beast a sickening odor caught her attention. A purple-black fog surrounded her and slowly closed in around her. The beast continued to fight her, each strong strike sent her stumbling back a couple of feet. It was only a matter of time until the girl stepped right into the putrid fog. Her skin instantly began to burn and bubble and she cried out in pain, nearly dropping her blade.

The demon took his opportunity, its black form shifted into a hook and swiped at her feet, causing Rose to fall to the ground. Her head bounced off the hard earth as the miasma licked her arms like flames. She was in near total agony.

A menacing smile formed on the creature's lips as it stood over her prone form, readying its hook like appendage for the final blow. At that moment a sickening crunch was heard. At the very last moment the girl had thrust her sword up through the evil smile. With pained triumph she twisted the blade. It howled and grabbed at the hole that had once been its face. Purple blood spewed forth, covering her torso and imbibing its awful stench. The creature collapsed on its side half on top of her; dead.

When she was sure it had breathed its last she gave a weary smile which caused a part of her burned jaw to bleed a little more. Deep blue pools rolled up into her head as she passed out cold.

Hours later she awoke to searing pain. The burns were not healing as quickly as they should and she knew she had to get to help. The stinking blood had vanished from her clothes along with the body. It did not surprise her in the least because she had seen many a demon dissipate after defeat.

It took her twenty minutes to get onto her feet. Her shoes and socks had burned away to reveal the charred flesh that traveled all the way to mid-thigh. Each step she took caused the fragile and brittle skin to crack and bleed. She felt more burns on her back as well as on both her arms to her elbows. The halter top Rose had worn had burned through where it wove around her waist but the strap around her neck was still intact. It fluttered in the breeze as she made her horrific journey back to the inn.

She managed to make it just a few hundred yards from the inn; Rose was barely able to see the outline of it through the trees. She made a raspy sound that might have been a sigh of relief before she passed out from the pain and blood loss.

At that moment a flustered Inu Yasha stormed outside. Shippo dangled from his tail, shouting obscenities at the hanyou while trying to reach up and bite his hand. Just as the kitsune readied his body for an eminent pummeling the wind changed. Suddenly, the dog-demon released him. He hit the ground head first with a yelp. By the time Shippo rolled onto all fours to respond he realized that the half demon was no longer behind him but was leaping away into the trees.

The scent of someone's blood was thick in the air and the kitsune ran back inside to alert the others. Inside he found Miroku and J deep in discussion about something. The other members of the group remained in their rooms. The little fox made a bee line to them, leaping into J's arms with a breathless gasp.

"Quick…outside… smell blood… someone's hurt…" He wheezed, more frightened than actually winded, "There's no time, hurry!"

He jumped back out of J's grasp and ran back out through the door. Worried they might lose the little demon Miroku and J scrambled out of their seats and followed. As the three reached the edge of the tree line near the inn Inu Yasha emerged carrying Rose. He approached them slowly, fearful that his every move might cause her burned skin to crack and bleed anew.

"Are there enemies?" Miroku asked, one hand already clutching the rosary which covered the wind tunnel.

The dog-demon shook his head, still heading for the inn's entrance, "I'm not sure but we need to get her help, first."

Inu Yasha's words snapped J from his horrified stare. The boy dashed ahead of him shouting, "I'll go get Fia and Kagome!"

When the hanyou got to the inn's entrance Miroku held the door open for him. The innkeeper, a tall woman with pale skin and strawberry-blonde curly hair, rushed up to them. She asked no questions. Rather, the woman quickly led them to a vacant room and then asked the two to wait while she went to get bandages.

Moments later Kagome, Fia, and Sango arrived at the room led by Neko. The girls carried various items. Sango held a large bowl of warm water, Fia carried towels, and Kagome had bandages. At the same time the innkeeper arrived with various herbs and more bandages, shooing the men out.

Neko called Miroku and Inu Yasha away as the girls closed the door to the room. The anthro waited for Shippo to arrive before asking what had happened.

Inu Yasha began; his voice hard, "The fox and I were outside when I smelled the blood of that Rose girl. I followed her scent and found her unconscious out in the woods. I tried to wake her but she was out cold and bleeding bad so I brought her back here."

Neko crossed his arms, the muscles in his shoulders tense, "Enemies?"

"Doubtful," the dog-demon replied, "I didn't see any signs of a fight in the area where I found her… and I think she may have walked there by herself. If we go back I'm pretty sure I can follow her scent back to the scene of the fight."

"And she didn't say anything to you about who did it?" Miroku asked.

The hanyou shook his head, "No, she was unconscious when I got there and she never woke up."

"All right then, lets go check it out." Neko then added, "Inu Yasha, you lead the way. Shippo, you and J keep an eye on the girls."

The fox demon agreed and scampered back into the inn. Inu Yasha in turn led them to the spot that he had found Rose; then dropped to the ground. The dog-demon sniffed around for a couple of seconds until he was sure he had acquired her scent, then took off through the woods. Miroku and Neko followed behind.

After a while Inu Yasha stopped and the other two halted. At first glance Miroku had thought they had entered a clearing. A second look caused him to realize that the clearing had been made by something that had burned away the trees in a large blackened circle. Both Inu Yasha and Miroku had seen that kind of damage before.

"Shit." They hissed simultaneously.

Neko blinked, his mounting fears intensified, "What?"

After a few seconds of inspecting the damage to confirm his suspicions the dog-demon spoke, "We've seen this kind of destruction before, back where we're from…"

"…It looks like miasma…" Miroku added.

Neko's golden eyes narrowed. Whatever 'miasma' was it did not sound good. The trees had burned away so much that even the stumps were gone. All signs of foliage, grass, twigs, or anything for that matter had vanished; all that remained was charred dirt. After a few minutes of contemplation Neko finally spoke up.

"So then, that Naraku fellow that you told us about… he did this?"

The other two nodded before Miroku explained, "Or it could be one of his henchmen. You see, he makes demons from his own organs to do his dirty work for him."

"He's a damn coward." Inu Yasha spat.

"…But whoever did this is likely dead…" the houshi continued, "Rose should have been dead, she wouldn't have been able to walk away if she hadn't killed him."

Neko shuddered; the image of the young woman's melted flesh bright in his mind.

"Let's fan out and keep looking. I want to make sure whatever spawn it was didn't go somewhere else before we say we're safe." The hanyou stated.

Both he and Miroku knew well that Naraku had a habit of faking his death and they wanted to be sure that it was the case. The houshi also pointed out that his wind tunnel was still active. It was more likely that whatever had attacked Rose was not Naraku at all but rather a piece of him.

"If the girl survives we can find out from her if it's really dead." Inu Yasha suggested.

They finally concluded their search and the anthro breathed a sigh of relief. The men after Fia were not the cause of the girl's misfortune and the thing after Kagome and the others appeared to be dead. That was good enough for him. The three warriors headed back the way they came towards the inn.

-

Kagome and Sango were waiting for them with dinner when they returned. The three eagerly sat down and wolfed down their meals. Neko finished first and looked up at the girls.

"Where are Fia and J? How's the girl doing?"

Sango shrugged, "I think Fia's taking a shower and Shippo's over there showing J some of his kitsune magic."

The huntress pointed over her shoulder to a sitting area where the fox demon was making little mushrooms he had collected dance and squeal. J found the entertainment to be hysterical and had laughed so hard he fell off the couch he had been sitting on.

The miko answered Neko's second question, "Rose is pretty torn up. The bleeding has stopped but she hasn't regained consciousness. Fia said it might be a few days before she wakes up…" She added in a quieter voice, "…and she might not wake up at all…"

The anthro cat shook his head again. The news was not good. He ran his fingers through his sun-bleached hair, then stood and headed to Fia's room. If he got there fast enough he figured he could at least relax a little with his woman in the shower. Neko practically skipped into the room, a naughty smile revealing sharp canines. The bathroom was silent. The shower was not running and there was no sign of the raven haired temptress. A quick look confirmed that Fia was not there. The anthro stepped back out into the hallway and looked about finding no sign of her he headed back to where Shippo and J were playing. Neither boy had seen Fia since the girls had helped bandage Rose.

A cold chill formed in the pit of his stomach. The men had been gone for a couple of hours and the inn's occupants had been worked up over the injured Rose. It would have been the perfect time for APAC to strike—No, it was still possible she had gone out for a little bit—he told himself. Neko next went to Inu Yasha and asked him to scent out Fia. The dog-demon led him through the inn, past Rose's room, and down a hall. They passed through a back door looking out towards the woods. Neko's heart sank as he saw an upended bowl lying on the ground. The hanyou confirmed Fia's scent and Rose's blood; he quickly surmised that the woman must have gone outside to dump the water used to clean Rose's wounds.

Neko cursed and searched the area but found little evidence of a struggle except for the discarded bowl. The scene was so clean it only confirmed his worst fears. APAC had come for Fia. Inu Yasha could see rage building behind the anthro's golden eyes. He knew the look well. Before he had time to say anything the man pushed past him back into the inn. He made a bee line straight for J, the boy gave a startled cry as he picked him up by his shirt and snarled into his face.

"She's gone!" He shouted, "Why the hell weren't you watching out for her?!"

J struggled in his grasp, unable to speak as Neko shook him roughly. Miroku saw the scene unfolding and ran to them in an attempt to pull the two apart. The anthro quickly changed out his grip to hold the boy in one hand while he pushed off the houshi with the other. In a heartbeat Inu Yasha tackled him then slammed a fist into the side of his cheek. Neko licked away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, which only seemed to fuel his blind rage.

J had dropped from his grasp when he had been sacked but it did not stop the anthro from bellowing at him, "You stupid kid. She's gone! You were supposed to watch her, damn it!"

The black-haired boy lay crumpled on the floor in stunned silence a few feet away. Meanwhile, Neko continued to scream at him.

"Stupid fucking kid, it's your fault she's go—ugh!"

A swift punch to the anthro's gut from the dog-demon silenced him. Inu Yasha had had enough of his fit. He knew that Neko's anger were not truly directed at the boy but were really aimed at himself. Inu Yasha's own experience after lashing out when he had thought he had killed Kagome as a full demon had taught him that the kind of emotions the anthro cat was experiencing were really things that he felt was his failure; not J's.

"Shut the hell up, cat." He shouted, raising a fist threateningly while maintaining a grip on one of Neko's arms to keep the enraged half human at bay as he spoke.

Shippo had appeared at J's side and Kagome soon followed, gently scooping the child up in her arms. The look in his wide blue eyes was full of terror and guilt but mostly shock. She instinctively held J to her chest, placing a protective hand on his head to keep his eyes at her shoulder instead of at the struggling pair on the floor. The normally talkative J was eerily quiet and it concerned her. Kagome slowly backed away with him and caught a glimpse of Sango checking on Miroku. He sported a slight scratch on his forehead where Neko had clipped him with his claws when he had pushed the houshi away. The anthro was not content to remain there. He continued to struggle against the hanyou until Inu Yasha was forced to draw his sword, tickling his throat with the blade.

"Stop struggling and listen you, damned fool." He snarled at Neko before continuing, "I know you're really just mad at yourself—"

"No you don't!" Neko's voice snapped back, which sounded far less angry and more desperate.

"Yes I do, damn it. I've been there, too, so shut the fuck up and listen!"

Hearing Inu Yasha say that made Kagome blush a little. She knew it was about her and the glance he threw in her direction confirmed it. The anthro relaxed a little underneath the dog-demon, breathing heavily with exertion.

"I know you want to blame someone but you and I both know that you're the one that failed her; not J. If you get anymore angry you'll just end up hurting someone else who doesn't deserve it." He took in a slow breath before adding, "Trust me, if you let yourself get out of control you'll only be giving another reason to regret something else."

That seemed to hit home for the anthro. His golden slit eyes grew wide with realization and his struggling halted entirely. Inu Yasha knew he could be trusted to be let up now so he stood and thrust a claw out to pull him up. Neko ignored it and hustled to his feet. As he did so a man entered the inn.

Instinctively everyone tensed; the seasoned warriors all adopted loose fighting stances. The man raised his black leather gloved hands.

"Whoa. Where's the fire, guys?" He raised a one hand to his square chin and rubbed it thoughtfully, "You look like travelers and warriors. Have you seen a little runt mercenary? She's about yea high…" He was a very tall man and indicated the height of a person almost a foot shorter than he, "…brown hair, dark blue eyes, swears like a sailor…"

Sango interrupted, "Would you be talking about a girl named Rose?"

"Yes, I've been tasked with looking for her. She's a member of our group." He said it with only the slightest hint of disdain. It was odd for them to see such a large man apparently keeping company with such a small woman. He was broad shouldered with a torso shaped much like an upside down triangle. He was clothed in obsidian, futuristic-looking armor. Locked at his hip glinted a sliver weapon with vicious curved blades on each end of a cylinder that seemed too short to be particularly useful in a combat situation.

Kagome raised her head. She had sat down on a couch so that she could hold J more comfortably. At some point the miko realized that her shoulder had become wet with his tears. The poor thing cried quietly while she stroked his hair gently.

"Are you, by chance, Ace?" She asked, recalling her conversation from earlier.

The man turned in the direction of the new voice, running his fingers through his short, slightly curly black hair. The irritation became apparent in his voice as he corrected her tersely, "It's pronounced 'Ah-say-bris' damn it. You must have spoken with her; she pronounces it wrong on purpose."

The man known as Acebris crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, "Just tell me where she's run off to now so I can get going…"

"She's here." Inu Yasha interrupted, annoyed by the insolent nature of the man. Acebris cocked a brow at the half-demon and nodded for him to continue like some sort of nobleman to a pauper. The attitude made the hanyou even more aggravated.

"She's injured. You don't believe me well go take a look." He pointed a claw at the door to her room. "It's room four."

His lips parted for a moment, revealing the slightest hint of shock, then closed into a thin line. His electric blue eyes flashed angrily as he stomped down the hall to her room. Inu Yasha cursed and looked around for Neko.

"Shit. That damned cat is gone."


	10. The Calm and the Storm

-*-

I'm going to hop on this story for a while. I will be making my epilogue to Inu Yasha as promised in First Class Dog. Don't worry, guys, I haven't forgotten. I figured it would be a big bummer if I started the new story and then had to drop it until December. I'd rather add infrequently to this one than start a fresh story and let it sit like that. I promise, I will do the other story in time!

-*-

During the momentary confusion Neko had slipped away.

Inu Yasha cursed.

"Perfect." He grumbled.

Kagome pursed her lips in thought. Their two adult guides in the alien world of RhyDin were gone. One had been spirited away, the other had run off. The miko and her close-knit friends had only a young boy to rely on. It was then that she noticed her shirt had grown damp at the shoulder where his tears had fallen onto it. Slowly, she edged off the sofa she had been sitting in and carefully stood with the child in her arms. It was no small feat to do so but she had carried around Souta so much that J's near dead weight was easy to adjust without compromising her balance.

The hanyou noticed her movement out of the corner of his eye. He opened his mouth to speak but the demon hunter clamped a hand on his shoulder and turned him towards her.

"Let her have some space. The only person who might know where Neko and Fia are is very upset…" In a quieter voice she added, "…Besides, our shard lead might not make it and we don't know anything about this land."

Inu Yasha's golden eyes were closed as he took a second to think. Kagome was already half way to her room with J. It seemed the miko had made up her mind for them both so he nodded and then stepped away from the huntress. He had to admit, the girl had a gift for healing broken minds. If anyone could get the kid back on his feet it would be her.

The moment the door shut to Kagome's room Acebris emerged from room four. He seemed calm, almost aloof to the predicament of his companion. The half demon expected him to be a mess after witnessing the girl in such a terrible condition. Then again, he did not seem to care much for her company. His blue eyes scanned the room until they fell upon the dog demon. The man's long strides quickly brought them close.

"You found her?" Acebris had the voice of a man who was all business and the impatient attitude had vanished from his body language.

Inu Yasha nodded, "I picked up the smell of her blood in the woods and tracked her down."

Miroku appeared beside them and added, "We brought her here and then we returned to where we found the young lady to see if whatever attacked her was still around."

"Her scent and her blood trail led us further into the woods." The hanyou continued.

"So she was attacked, then tried to walk back to the inn?" Acebris inquired, one black eyebrow arched incredulously.

"It seems that way." The houshi replied, "The evidence points to an attack by one possessing miasma. It is a dark fog which burns or melts any living thing on contact."

"This thing attacks with an acidic fog?"

"Yeah, it reeks of an enemy we're a little too familiar with. But we're pretty sure she killed it. There wasn't any sign or scent of anything other than her outside of the initial attack site." Inu Yasha added.

"Tell me all about it."

-*-

It took some degree of skill to get the door to her room closed behind her with a limp pre-teen in her arms. Kagome sat down on her bed carefully with J and patted his back to get his attention. He had been so quiet she almost wondered if he had passed out.

"You heard Neko is gone?"

The boy nodded into her shoulder.

"You know that this wasn't your fault, right? He's not mad at you, he's mad at himself."

J's quiet voice wavered when he spoke, "No, he's right. I should have been watching her. We know they wait to get her alone. It's easier to make the extraction."

He swallowed hard.

The miko hated to make the point but knew it would be the only thing that might break through his emotional state, "But, even if you were there, would you have been able to fight those people off alone?"

Again, he shook his head no. J shifted off her lap and sat on the bed beside her, clasping one of her hands tightly between two of his. He clung to her as if she might be spirited away as well if he let go. Knowing that the boy was very analytical in nature she followed her question up with another.

"So, if you had been there and fought with them and been hurt…what would Fia do?"

"…She would have been upset…" He replied, hesitantly.

Kagome pressed on, "Would Neko have run off even if you were hurt?"

Another nod from J followed, "He would have known I was safe with you guys. He was taught to travel alone."

A thought struck her just then and she pursed her lips in thought for a moment before asking, "J, you and Fia…you communicate to each other with your minds, right?"

His unnaturally blue eyes stared up at her for a moment; he had the faintest hint of a blush on his tear-streaked cheeks, "Y-yeah… of course I can, why?"

"Can you reach her with your mind?" She chewed on her lower lip before adding, "Can she tell you where she is?"

The sudden realization that he was not quite as useless as he had originally thought caused him to regain much of his composure. His posture straightened, his fists scrubbed off the tears from his cheeks and then settled on his knees. J's blue eyes seemed to defocus for a moment. They were wide open and stayed that way unblinking. His lips moved as if they were forming silent words, then his brow wrinkled and he blinked again.

"Damn! They must have shut her down. I can't pick up a signal."

"Well that makes sense. APAC wouldn't want her fighting them the whole way to their labs, now would they?" Acebris said as he appeared in the doorway to their room.

J jumped a little and instinctively put a small arm out in front of the miko protectively, "What do you want and what do you know about APAC?"

"Please, kid. If I wanted to hurt her it would have already happened. Look, I'm hunting the same people that took your girlfriend."

"S-she's not my girlfriend!" J blustered, "And so what if you're hunting the same people? Your partner is hurt…she might die. Are you just gonna leave her there?"

Something flashed in the tall man's eyes that Kagome sensed was trouble. He might have been angry, but the look was so momentary that she had little time to think much about it. She gave the boy a gentle squeeze to his shoulder to let Acebris talk.

"No, brat, but if you wait a few days they'll have to boot her back up again once they get her back to the labs now, won't they? Then you can triangulate her signal and find out where they took her."

"But why take on APAC? Rose is hurt." Kagome interjected.

"It's just business, that's all." He grunted and crossed his arms in a way that Kagome recognized as a move Inu Yasha often used when he was finished talking about a personal matter. She could ask the dog demon about it later. He and Miroku had been talking to Acebris before they had stepped in. Before she could inquire further the mercenary had stepped back out into the hall.

The miko turned her attention back to J, "Are you feeling any better now?"

He nodded and gave her a lopsided smile. The pain was still evident in his eyes but he seemed to be aching far less than before.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Let's go talk to everyone and let them know what's going on."

-*-

The explanation of the most recent chain of events and their new objective turned out to be far easier than what J had originally supposed. Explaining com-links had turned out to be too complicated for the Sengoku people to relate to. Eventually they settled on calling it a 'special shared psychic link' and left it at that. The boy genius had an even more difficult time explaining why he had to wait for them to take Fia to their base before he could determine where she was. He could not explain what triangulation was but he was able to simplify the idea into telling them that Fia could not tell him where she was until she was conscious and could give them an idea of her location. Granted, he would know exactly where she was without knowing physical features and it wouldn't be a guessing game but he could cross that bridge later when he came to it.

For the rest of the day J continued his attempt to contact Fia at least once every hour. Both Sango and Kagome quickly realized that the effort to try and make a connection wore the boy out. He ate frequently, yet continued to look more and more exhausted as the hours went on. When it grew dark Sango begged him to stop and take a rest. Acebris had gone in and out of Rose's room most of the day but at that moment he leaned against a wall, staring intently at J. When he refused to go to bed Acebris shook his head and sat down next to him on the couch the boy was meditating.

"Look, kid. You've got an organic computer, right?" He tapped his head with a leather-covered hand for emphasis.

J blinked in surprise, "You know that?"

"Of course," Ace continued, "I _am_ going after APAC, after all… but anyway. You need to go take a rest. Your heart rate is rapid, you're pale, and you're worrying these women half to death."

"But… who'll check the signal when I'm asleep?"

"I can—only if you let me." Acebris motioned at a small electronic board on one of his ebony gauntlets. "I can monitor the signal while you're asleep. I know you don't know me that well but…" He hesitated for a moment, as if contemplating what he was about to say and if it was worth saying, in the end he gave in. "APAC took something very dear from my people. I want them gone. You can even delete her call sign in the morning, personally."

J ran his fingers through his hair for a moment in thought then accessed the small hologram keyboard which hovered over the man's gauntlet. Sango watched the two from a distance; she jumped when Miroku leaned in to whisper to her.

"Don't those two look alike?"

"I thought so too." Sango replied under her breath "They almost look like brothers."

"Indeed. We ought to keep an eye on him, I should think."

She nodded. After searching through a few of Ace's databanks J decided that the man was trustworthy enough and configured his gauntlet to pick up Fia's call signal.

"You'll wake me up if you get through to her…even if it's late?" J looked up at the man, his eyes pleading.

Ace ruffled the boy's hair, "Of course, kid. Now, let the little ladies put you to bed."

J groaned but allowed the big man to push him towards Kagome and Sango. The boy grabbed onto Kagome's hand and allowed her to bustle him off to bed. Shippo had already fallen asleep in their room. Inu Yasha followed behind the two girls at a distance, and then stood against the wall beside the doorway to keep watch over them. Fia's disappearance had put him on edge and he was concerned that either one of them could be next.

J insisted that Kagome remain with him while he slept and held her hand like a security blanket. Eventually Sango managed to switch her hand with his so that she could go to bed. The huntress was used to sleeping sitting up so it was easy for her to remain in that position. The miko was not so accustomed to such things; she waved to Sango appreciatively and then headed back to her own room. Inu Yasha scrambled up from the sitting position he had adopted while he waited.

"Oi, woman, slow down," He grumbled.

She whirled towards him and gave him her most disarming smile. "Are you ready for bed?"

The hanyou gaped for a moment, shocked at how forward she was to him, "I…uh… yes, bed is good."

As they passed by the open door to Rose's room the two noticed Ace sat in a chair beside her. He tapped on the hologram over one of his gauntlets and without looking up gave the two a wave. The man was incredibly perceptive. The dog demon's sharp eyes also noted that her burns were looking slightly better as well; her scent did not reek so much of miasma, either.

"I think she's going to pull through…She doesn't smell so much like death." Inu Yasha commented below his breath.

"That's good to know." The miko replied.

Back in their room Kagome quietly closed the door and plopped down onto the bed. She stared the half demon down intently and without hesitation he spoke exactly what had been on her mind.

"You want to know why Acebris wants to come with."

She nodded.

"We told him that we're pretty sure Rose killed whatever attacked her but I also mentioned that there's always a chance that it she didn't." He took in a breath slowly as he replayed their earlier conversation back in his mind, "Miroku told him that we wouldn't look for her attacker until we found Fia."

Kagome nodded for him to continue.

"When we told him what had happened he immediately said that he would help us take on APAC. He said he was originally commissioned to deal with them…Kagome, they're taking _people_…lots of them."

The thought sent a cold shiver down her spine. Naraku had a knack for wanton destruction but not so much for kidnapping. Inu Yasha was not done enlightening her yet.

"He said they experiment on the people and that they do it to make money. It's downright sick. I don't wanna think about what they're going to do to Fia. The way he talks about APAC I get the feeling this is more than business…it's _personal_ to him. It sounds pretty dangerous… not that I can't handle a little danger but," His voice softened, "I…"

Suddenly the dog demon turned on her, his large claws clamped down on her shoulders and his golden eyes bored into hers. His face was just an arm length away from hers and she could feel the uptick in the tempo of her heart.

"I want to help get rid of these people. Fia and J, hell, even that damned cat has been good to us."

He felt more than he spoke. He had never seen a group of people show such hospitality without reason. The villagers they often encountered in the Sengoku period did not show such warmth unless they needed the gang to kill off some powerful demons. However, Fia and Neko seemed to carry their own burdens and asked for no help in return. Even though they did not need the trouble Naraku might bring the odd family had jumped to help two 'evil' demons and a handful of human strangers. It was the least he could do to lend a claw in reuniting their little family.

The compassion in his face and his voice was impossible for Kagome to miss and it made her smile, "Of course we'll help them."

"Oh no, it's not going to be 'we' this time; just me." He replied immediately.

"What? Why?" She blinked, bewildered.

"Because!"

The irritation began to build in her voice, the heady feeling she had experienced a moment ago as he held onto her shoulders was forgotten, "Why not?"

'_I should have known that wasn't going to work for an answer_,' he thought to himself before responding. "Someone's got to keep an eye on Rose while she heals."

"She's getting better and we both know it." Her voice raised an octave and he was aware that he was treading on thin ice and she was not finished speaking. "We're in battles all the time; we're a team!"

"Yeah and so are Rose and Acebris and look what happened to her!" He snapped back. "Fia, Neko and J are a family and they're separated! Fia might even be dead for all we know!"

His grip tightened on her shoulders but did not squeeze them enough to bring pain. The half demon seemed to be using them as a way to keep his thoughts grounded. Kagome was too surprised to speak, riveted by his penetrating gaze.

"Listen to me, Kagome. Acebris has told me about these people. They attack in groups and have been trained to hunt—and kill—people for a long time. They aren't demons. Demons hunt alone and attack head on. These guys can sneak up on a person and spirit them away. Hell, your arrows might not work on them. If they took you…I…I don't know what I might do."

His cheeks burned red when he realized what he had said aloud yet the words continued to spill from his lips, "I'm not sure if I can protect you from these people…or what they would do to you if they caught you. I can't let that happen."

Inu Yasha almost said '_because I need you_' but he bit it back. If she knew his weakness for her then she might assume that she had to stay with him. The dog-demon would not allow her to follow him into a danger of which he knew so little. Instinctively he felt that this threat was too different from the demons he was used to facing; too subtle and too clever.

"Please, Kagome. For once just listen to me. Miroku has already agreed to watch out for you."

"What about Sango?" Her eyes narrowed and her hands moved to her hips to show her displeasure over the arrangements made without her knowledge. Oh, he was _so_ in for a sitting.

"Sango coming with us; she knows a good deal about stealth and we really need to surprise these bastards."

She realized that Miroku was the obvious choice to stay. His air rip was not exactly the most subtle attack and he could always be put down with poisons. The way Acebris described those working for APAC made her fairly certain they were not beyond fighting dirty. The miko also acknowledged internally that she was no better at stealth or poison protection. Besides, they still did not know if the threat from Naraku had truly been vanquished, which meant someone had to stay behind and wait for Rose to recover enough to tell them. Kagome tried to be stubborn but in the end relented with a sigh.

"You're sure this is the only way?"

He nodded quickly.

"All right then… but just this once… and you better come back safe." She warned, waggling a finger at him.

The breath he had been holding while he waited for her answer whooshed out of him in a sigh of relief. The hanyou yanked her in close and gave her a squeeze. Her scent was everywhere around him and he knew that he would miss it terribly while he was gone.

"Crazy woman, of course I'll come back." He scoffed into her hair, "And it's not like I'm leaving right this second. That signal-thingy hasn't come through yet."

It seemed like RhyDin was full of surprises, or perhaps Inu Yasha was full of them? Either way she liked it. Kagome had lost her breath for what seemed like an eternity when she had been pulled into his embrace. His unusually soft voice in her hair had sent her heart racing. His sensitive ears misinterpreted the sound to mean that she needed to rest so he begrudgingly withdrew a little and nudged her towards her bed.

"You've been standing a long time. You should sleep."

The manner in which he said it made it sound like he might have been discussing something very obvious, like 'water is wet' or 'the sky is blue.' The girl rolled her eyes but shuffled backwards to sit on the bed. As soon as she sat down her body reminded her that she really _was_ tired. The miko turned her eyes to the demon.

"I have to get changed…"

A blush began to heat her cheeks. The way she had said it had none of her usual no-nonsense attitude. Rather, her voice sounded soft and shy in her ears. Her embarrassment escalated when she realized that Inu Yasha had hesitated. His gilded eyes stared at her for a minute, as if time has suddenly slowed, the look he gave her was difficult to read but it almost looked like desire. No, it could not be that, she thought to herself. As if to justify her thoughts the hanyou gave a disgruntled 'feh' and trundled out of the room.

"Just hurry the hell up. I've got to sleep too." He told the door.

Kagome hurried to put her pajamas on initially, and then slowed down as a thought dawned on her. Why did she have to hurry? What was the rush? He could be so impatient sometimes. He was most likely completely unaware of what he had made her feel just moments ago. She finished buttoning up her pajama top in a far grumpier mood than before. He would have to stay nice to her or else she would come along just to spite him. Feeling slightly satisfied with her reasoning the miko opened the door to her room again and quickly spotted the dog demon leaning against the wall beside it.

"Well come on then. I wouldn't want to ruin your beauty sleep." She grumbled.

He balked but pushed off from the wall with his shoulder and followed her inside. She complained about his rude behavior all the way to the bed and then down under the covers. Without thinking he climbed onto the bed next to her on top of the covers, too busy making snippy comments to notice their proximity. It was only when Kagome ran out of things to complain about that she noticed that he was propped up on one elbow right beside her. Still, her pride would not let her get all mushy at their closeness. In order to keep up her demeanor she quickly turned her back to him, facing the wall that the bed was pushed up against. As soon as she had turned away she felt her cheeks begin to burn a little and she shut her eyes tight as if not seeing would will her sudden bashfulness away.

Inu Yasha, on the other hand, still had a few choice words to say to her back but when she failed to respond they died on his lips. It dawned on him just then how easily he had climbed into bed next to her—and she had allowed it without question! He knew that she had allowed him to rest with her before but only now did it occur to him how natural it felt to be at her side. No one could take his precious miko from him when they were so close. He could feel her every movement on the mattress and it would be impossible for one of those APAC fiends to steal her away. The half demon smirked, '_I would have been on his sorry ass in a second._'

Kagome's breathing had slowed, signifying that she was asleep. He found the gentle rise and fall of her sides captivating. '_All that anger and yet you still sleep like a pup_' he mused inwardly. It was one of the many things that he enjoyed about her. One day he would tell her everything he thought. For tonight, though, he would sleep.

-*-

In the adjacent room Miroku briefed Sango about their latest quest. She was a bright woman and had quickly understood why he would stay and she needed to go. There would be no ensuing arguments like the one likely happening at the moment between Kagome and her stubborn protector.

"There's one other reason you need to go with them." He began, "I know Inu Yasha-sama can handle himself but it would be more advantageous if there were two of you."

Sango agreed. She knew was he was getting at. To a certain degree they trusted Acebris, but he was still little more than a stranger and could have been lying for all they knew. If he did turn out to be a problem it was a much easier to tackle a fight of two against one. She doubted that such a thing would happen but it still paid to be prepared for the worst.

With the discussion adjourned the two prepared their beds. They had been lucky enough to have found a room with two small beds on each wall. The huntress ordered the perverted priest to turn around. He complained that he would miss seeing her beautiful body but she was adamant and so he faced the wall on which his bed butted up against. Fearful he might try to sneak a peek she pulled off the pieces of her armor quickly. She had managed to un-strap most of the armor before she realized he _was_ peeking. With a furious blush she slapped him silly, stripped the remaining pieces away, and crawled into bed in her black bodysuit. Once she was satisfied she was adequately covered under the sheets Sango allowed him to turn back around.

Sango closed her eyes and replayed the day's events in her mind. She did so to clear her mind in preparation for sleep. Eventually her mind returned to their most recent talk. Their conversation was brief but she could easily make out the concern in his voice. For all his womanizing she knew the houshi cared for their little group. He might even be helpless without them. She smiled a little at the thought and dozed off thinking, '_what a silly, strange man._'

Miroku pondered why such a lovely lady pummeled him so. His cheek still smarted. Well, not really, he knew why but it was more than a little entertaining to him to annoy her. Besides, the pain was always worth the view. He might not get to see her lovely body for a while and he acknowledged that he would miss her. That gave him all the more reason to give her behind a good-bye pat before she left. As he turned in for the night the houshi's thoughts were filled with pleasant thoughts of his irritable huntress and her lovely backside.

-*-

Back in room four Acebris tapped the hologram in an attempt to reach Fia again. He knew that it was foolish to bother with the hourly check of her signal. APAC employees would likely travel with her switched off until they got to one of their labs. No one in town had stumbled upon anything heavily fortified or guarded recently. If none of the locals had noticed anything strange then it was a good bet that the closest APAC lab had to be more than a day's walk away. Locals were more likely to travel in any direction only as far as they could get back to their own home before nightfall. Hence, checking the signal for at least a day was pointless.

Some rumors in town indicated that a few regular traveling merchants from the next closest settlement had gone missing. Acebris suspected that those unfortunate few might have accidentally come too close to a facility and were quietly taken out. The next nearest town was a little more than three days away so he could consider that the lab might be about that far away.

Ace checked the signal again regardless. He would not let the kid down, even if he knew it was pointless to try. Nothing registered and he allowed the screen to close out. For a few minutes he tried not to look at the prone woman beside him. If he did look, he was certain he would lose his focus on the upcoming mission. It was a dangerous thing in their business. Rose never seemed to understand that; she always stuck her neck out for people because she always felt badly for them. In the end she worried too much for others and never enough about herself.

The big man shook his dark head and shot a glance over at Rose. He immediately wished he had not. Her normally petal-pink skin exhibited a multitude of colors. Her chest was a hot pink and white mess of blistering skin and swollen tissue. Her arms and legs were still a mess of charred black skin. Had she been a normal human the girl would have desperately needed several skin grafts. However, Rose healed at an accelerated rate which was often complicated or slowed if such procedures were attempted. It had always been a frustrating thing to Ace to know that there was next to nothing he could do for her except impotently wait for her to recover on her own.

Seeing her suffer always ruined his concentration. If Ace had not looked he could have at least calculated her rate of healing; instead all he could do was sit there taking in the horrific sight. He ran a hand through his hair to scratch his scalp and then absently rubbed his chin.

"You shouldn't have run off without me." He spoke to her, knowing she could not hear him. "…Then again, I shouldn't have left you alone in the first place, now should I?"

He smirked, knowing she would have responded by saying, "Would 'a, could 'a, should 'a." Rose was never one to dwell on the past for too long. Acebris always found that a bit odd. He could be angry over the slightest thing for hours; raging internally at himself and externally getting irritable with everyone else. When things happened to Rose though, some of them he had _told_ her were downright unforgivable, she would huff and puff for a few minutes and then be perfectly happy again the next.

It occurred to him that he'd never seen her cry. Angry, yes; but sad, no… somewhere in the back of his mind he heard his leader Joseph tell him he could be pretty blind about some things. Perhaps he had simply never noticed the times she had been sad? Ace shook his head to clear away the thought from his mind.

"You'd call me an idiot, wouldn't you?"

She remained silent. He sighed and checked the time again. In a few more minutes he would have to check the signal again.


End file.
